The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has announced Kendra Gaither’s appointment as President of the U.S.-Africa Business Center (USAfBC).
“What an honor to lead the U.S.-Africa Business Center and work with our members and partners to deepen the vital commercial relationship between Africa and the United States,” said Gaither. “The Center represents the business community’s belief that there is an opportunity and an imperative to grow the U.S.-Africa trade and investment partnership. I’m thrilled to work with our incredible team to create conditions for our public and private sector partners to expand and modernize commercial ties between the U.S. and the nations of Africa.”
“The entire Chamber team is delighted that Kendra will assume this leadership role with the U.S-Africa Business Center as we continue to elevate our engagement with partners across the continent,” said John Murphy, U.S. Chamber Senior Vice President for International Policy. “Kendra’s role has been critical to the growing realization among American businessowners and CEOs that an investment in Africa is an investment in their own future. She is a dynamic leader whose courage, commitment, and vision for the U.S.-Africa economic relationship will take the Center to new heights.”
Kendra succeeds outgoing USAfBC President Scott Eisner as he begins a new chapter as Senior Vice President at BGR Group. “I would also like to thank our good friend Scott Eisner, founder of the U.S.-Africa Business Center, for his long labors making the Center into the preeminent voice for increasing U.S.-Africa commercial ties,” said Murphy.
Kendra joined the Chamber’s International Affairs team as a member of the Americas Department in 2015, where among other contributions she established the U.S.-Colombia Business Council and served as its founding Executive Director. She joined the Chamber from Carnegie Mellon University, where she was Executive Director of the Center for International Policy and Innovation and supported the establishment of the Carnegie Mellon University graduate campus in Kigali, Rwanda.
Kendra began her career as a U.S. diplomat, specializing in economic and trade issues in Latin America and Africa for over a decade. She holds a B.S. in economics from North Carolina A&T State University, and an M.A. in international affairs and an M.B.A. in international business finance from The George Washington University.
